Former Portsmouth and Coventry City forward Yang Min-hyeok pens 223-word apology following remarks after Asian Games
Yang Min-hyeok was part of the South Korea side that secured a fourth successive Asian Games title
Former Pompey forward Yang Min-hyeok has issued an apology to his fellow countrymen after appearing to celebrate his exemption from military service.
The 20-year-old was part of the South Korea under-23 team that won the Asian Games on Saturday thanks to a 1-0 win over Japan.
Victory at the Games, along with a gold medal at the Olympics, guarantees individuals a government pardon from participating in 18-21 months of national service, which is compulsory for all able-bodied males before the age of 28.
After securing top spot, the one-time Blues loanee spoke to the Korean Times, where he implied the main motivating factor for him and his team-mates before the tournament was to avoid military service.
He said: ‘We were being compensated, and the compensation was military exemption, so it feels like we played with that one thing in mind.
‘Honestly, whether it was a trophy or a medal wasn't important.’
Yang’s remarks, however, didn’t go down well in his homeland.
And in an attempt to stem the criticism, he took to social media to apologise for his choice of words.
He wrote: ‘Hello, this is Yang Min-hyeok. I am sincerely sorry for causing disappointment and discomfort to so many people with my remarks regarding the Asian Games.
‘Participating in the Asian Games as a representative of South Korea held great significance for me, and as an athlete, I naturally gave my all with the goal of winning the championship and the gold medal.
‘However, I failed to properly convey that the military service exemption was merely one of several motivators - alongside the desire to achieve great results - that drove me forward.
‘Regardless of my original intent, it is clearly my fault that my words caused discomfort and made it appear as though I took the significance of the gold medal lightly as a national team athlete.
‘I recognise that the gold medal was not something simply guaranteed; it was an achievement made possible only through the hard work and support of many people. Furthermore, I never intended to belittle or mock the efforts of those currently fulfilling their military service obligations or those who will do so in the future.
‘I sincerely apologise to everyone who was hurt or disappointed by my thoughtless remarks. Moving forward, I will strive to make amends not only through my words but by demonstrating a better attitude and a greater sense of responsibility on the field. My sincere apologies.’
Yang was credited with assisting Eom Ji-sung’s 60th-minute winner against hosts Japan in Saturday’s final.
The Spurs youngster featured in four of South Korea’s five matches during the Games, amassing 183 minutes of match action.
That’s more game time than what he earned at Coventry over the second half of last season.
Indeed, after Tottenham cut short his season-long loan at Fratton Park, Yang featured only four times for Frank Lampard’s side and was on the pitch for just 101 minutes.
The former Gangwon ace scored three goals in 15 games for Pompey over the first half of the 2025-26 season.
Yang is currently on his third loan spell away with Spurs, having agreed to move to Belgian side KVC Westerloo in the summer.
He featured twice for his latest club, both as a substitute, before linking up with his South Korean team-mates.